The present disclosure relates generally to food technology. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for detecting the water to product interface that occurs during a transition from recirculating water to a food product during aseptic processing of the food product.
Methods of aseptically processing food products are well known. These methods, however, may not always provide optimal results for manufacturing efficiency and/or resulting product quality. For example, during aseptic processing, a food product is typically heated by water, which is heated by steam. Prior to processing of the food product, however, the system is chemically cleaned and rinsed with water. Water is then recirculated through the system to maintain sterility of the system. When the timing is appropriate to introduce the food product into the system, a product tank valve is opened and the initial water/food product interface begins to travel through the system. Alternatively, when timing is appropriate to cease flow of the food product in the system, a product tank valve is closed and water begins recirculating through the system again. In either instance, it is important to detect the location of the water/product or product/water interface to avoid process inefficiencies such as, for example, the unnecessary loss of product that occurs when a conservative approach to food product packaging is taken. In this regard, factories may take a conservative approach to evaluating the timing of the water/product interface to ensure that no diluted product is packaged for sale to consumers.
Therefore, there exists a need for a manufacturing process that is able to accurately detect the water/food product interface that occurs during aseptic processing of a food product.